


Quiet Acclimation

by C4S10



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Character Study, One Shot, Post-Canon, Self-Reflection, Steven Universe Future, i just think volleyball and pearl should hang out
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-23
Updated: 2020-11-23
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:29:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,520
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27684944
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/C4S10/pseuds/C4S10
Summary: Volleyball is putting in the quiet work to move on after the universe seemingly did all it could to stop her in her tracks.
Relationships: Pearl & Pink Diamond’s Original Pearl | Volleyball
Comments: 4
Kudos: 13





	Quiet Acclimation

Volleyball found the company of Blue and Yellow Pearl comforting now that she had woken up in a new universe after so long spent ‘asleep’.

At first it was… strange. She felt strange just existing. Everything was so different, and every moment she was submerged in a strange, overwhelming sense of déjà vu that made it difficult to take it all in. Homeworld was the same as always, but different. Gems she had known were the same, but different. The Diamonds were the pinnacle of being the same, but often the things they said and did were so… different.

She knew it wasn’t really her place to speculate on them, or to cast too harsh a judgement upon them, but she couldn’t help the sneaking notion that it was too little too late. The way they spoke about Pink now… as if Volleyball hadn’t watched her sob and scream and have violent outbursts about how dismissive and often downright cruel the other Diamonds could be to her…

Volleyball realised her free hand had crept up to brush against the cracks that had once been rent across the polished surface of her face when the Peridot who was teaching this class stomped over to her and said shrilly, “what are you _doing_ destroying completely healthy petals!?” with the kind of outrage that could have been reserved for a far more serious atrocity.

Volleyball’s free hand dropped to her side as she gasped softly and her attention was snapped back to the striped pink-and-white carnation she had just as good as massacred in her inattention. She dropped her clippers, “sorry!” she said oddly sharply in her soft voice.

“Pay more attention, then!” Peridot exclaimed, and snatched the clippers from the table. She then began to point out exactly what she was doing as she cut off the rotting leaves of the plant that Volleyball should have been tending to. Volleyball clasped her hands together before herself and tried to watch politely.

She remembered watching Gems tending to Pink’s gardens before, thousands of years ago. Never a Peridot, though. The déjà vu returned, sickeningly disorienting. Volleyball felt a heaviness in her Gem, a pressure in her chest. She stood still, rather than hold her head the way she felt compelled to.

She tried to remain present in the room. The thick smells of moist greenery, flourishing within Peridot’s greenhouse, the sounds of muted conversations between happy Gems tending to their own plants bouncing off the dew-drop coated glass walls, the slight breeze brushing through a loose strand of hair from a nearby window, cracked open and breaking up the humidity.

It really was very nice in here. This was, perhaps, Volleyball’s favourite class. The flora was familiar to her, unlike so much else on this planet, and she could get away with being silent, as Peridot did not seem to truly expect her to answer her many rhetorical questions (she was more of the lecturing type). She liked the way that she could engross herself with whatever task it was she was completing, and the way the lessons in the greenhouse offered so much soft sensory input to comfort her.

Peridot finished doing Volleyball’s job for her, then set the clippers down (her indignation now as good as forgotten), and said, “alright, now water it, spray the pesticide _gently_ on the leaves, and put everything back in its place.”

Volleyball did as she had been told, a little sheepishly after her earlier distraction-induced mistake—then she was done for the day. It was getting late, anyway. She sighed, and made her way towards a sink within the greenhouse to wait her turn behind a burly quartz cleaning and disinfecting the tools she had been using.

She cleaned her hands with some relief, digging under her nails with some secret irritation at the dirt and plant matter that had burrowed its way so insidiously under them.

Then it was time to leave. She had a ‘home’ within Little Homeworld to return to, small and comfortable, but she did not feel like returning to it just then. It was too small and quiet for her at times. She liked being busy, and a part of her was unbearably uncomfortable being alone after spending her whole life near-constantly in _someone_ else’s prescence at all times before now.

Living alone and largely for herself was strange, and while she spent time with the other Pearls while they were on earth and got along with most of the other Gems she came across, the Pearls weren’t always around and she was really nothing more than passing acquaintances with anyone else.

Not that she was particularly upset about that. Volleyball supposed that she was just naturally a quiet and solitary person. She knew that her very nature was not something to get defensive or upset about, but if she was quite honest with herself, she was prone to getting lonely as well.

She left the Greenhouse and wandered out onto the beach. The sun was just beginning to touch the horizon, blue sky giving way to pale pink. The sound of the waves rolling back and forth, tumbling gently over each other was soothing in its constant, predictable movement. The salty air was nice and strange, and fresh. The wind cooling her on the otherwise warm evening.

It took Volleyball a moment to pick up a set of sounds carried to her on the wind as being out of place, because intermittent noise coming from the direction of the town along with the sounds of the ocean was doing all it could to mask anything else. But she came to a stop in her quiet stroll, feet sinking slightly in the wet sand beneath her, and tilted her head slightly so as to listen better as the very tip of a wave brushed at her feet before pulling away once again.

Strange clashing sounds… thumping… a shout. It sounded like… a Pearl. It was all very hard to make out for a moment, but was rapidly getting louder—closer.

Volleyball started walking again, just before she heard a loud, vicious, strangled hiss that made her stop in her tracks once more. A coldness sprouted from somewhere within her Gem and spread numbly through her stomach. She looked behind herself, barely seeing part of Beach city poking out from behind the edge of the cliff that sat under the lighthouse. She saw no-one.

Then she looked back in the direction of the noise, which was still going on, getting louder, getting closer.

“ _Oof!”_ the unmistakable sound of all the air being knocked from someone’s chest too quickly and roughly reached Volleyball’s ears the split second before she saw something flying towards her.

She noticed it too late, however, and did not even have the opportunity to begin to get out of the way before Pearl, Pink’s second Pearl, Pearl the rebel, slammed into her chest and sent her tumbling backwards head-over-heels into the wet sand with her.

The two of them shouted together as they landed in a tangled heap on the ground, sand in their hair, and in Volleyball’s mouth. For a split second, parts of their forms that were touching, in their shared surprise and urgency at a sudden full-throated gurgling sound, nauseating in its pitch, began to glow and sink into each other before they caught themselves and automatically scrambled to their feet and pulled apart.

Pearl glanced at Volleyball, and at that second a huge creature that looked something like a salamander with soft yellow scales, upon which rows and rows of spikes were flared upwards repeatedly in a wave-like motion that mirrored the sea behind it by the rippling muscles under its skin. It bared its huge, gaping maw at them, revealing rows of teeth not unlike the spikes, doubtlessly ready to consume them.

It hissed again, and the teeth rippled and rotated with the sound, distorting it in a way that made Volleyball’s skin crawl. It sounded so repulsive and unnatural.

The thing was already charging towards them on all fours when Pearl, leaning on her spear, which she had used to help herself up, stood up straight and reached a hand out to Volleyball. Her hand wavered as her body shifted with her heavy, laboured breathing.

“Would you mind?” she asked with an almost apologetic smile.

Volleyball didn’t have more than a moment to hesitate, so she got that over with before quickly extending her own hand, and taking Pearls. Pearl swung her into her body, like the beginning steps of a dance, and Volleyball almost had a moment to be pleasantly surprised with the suddenness of it and the expert, well-practiced grace with which Pearl pulled her in close.

But then they were opening their eyes. _She_ was opening _her_ eyes, and she was Mega Pearl.

With a cool collectedness that felt entirely natural, she summoned her bladed wand, from which hung a long, flexible but tough ribbon. As the corrupted Gem, which she knew had ascended from the mysterious and vast unexplored depths of the ocean and attacked Pearl, made its move, she wound up and made hers first.

The ribbon whipped forwards and snapped onto one of the things forelegs. Mega Pearl used every ounce of strength she could muster to pull back on it even as she twirled easily out of the way of a swinging claw, serrated and cruel-looking.

The corrupted Gem went sailing over her head. As it did, she gripped the handle of the wand with both hands and _slammed_ the thing powerfully into the dry sand nearby. She closed her eyes as a wave of grains tried to pelt her in the face, taking one hand from her wand to shield her face as she pulled back on the other and leapt forwards. The ribbon unwound from the beast as she moved.

Another choking, gurgling roar sounded from its throat, but it was still belly-up, and it only took a split second for Mega Pearl to land kneeling with her wand already plunged deep into its core.

For a moment, both of them were still.

Then, a rush of air and a flash of light, and all that was left of the thing was a yellow gem in a sandy crater.

Mega Pearl bubbled it as she stood and allowed her wand to dissolve. She stood there for a moment, feeling very good about herself, and then she, too, dissolved.

Two Pearls reformed side-by-side. Volleyball faltered for a moment before she managed to hide the strange rush of disappointment she felt when she became herself again. Not because she didn’t like being herself, but because a great sense of self-assurance was replaced with her earlier low spirits.

“Well, that was certainly much easier with your help,” Pearl said, smiling at Volleyball, who blushed, stuck thinking on just how good Mega Pearl had felt about herself, a reflection of their feelings about themselves and each other.

“It was no problem,” Volleyball said, reflecting Pearl’s smile back at her without any trouble.

“Alright, then let’s get this Gem healed,” Pearl said briskly, and the bubbled Gem hovered over to her upturned palm. She was already walking back towards where Volleyball knew the Crystal Gem temple to be when she looked over her shoulder and asked, “would you like to see how it’s done?”

“Oh!” Volleyball exclaimed, realising that she was actually very curious, “okay. Lead the way.”

They headed back to the house on the beach together.

Pearl held the door open for Volleyball to pass through in a very gentlemanly manner.

This was only the second time she had been in here. She wondered where Steven was. Only a handful of months ago, he had gone on his little rampage, and he hadn’t been seen much since. Volleyball assumed he had been recuperating—taking a well-deserved rest.

“Steven is out with his friend Connie,” Pearl explained, as if she could read her mind, “and Garnet and Amethyst are stars-know-where, so it’s just been me here today.”

“Ah,” Volleyball acknowledged as they crossed the house. It was getting dim, the sun falling below the horizon just enough that the pink light of the sky was already dimming to a dark grey. Pearl flipped a switch and the living room they stood in lit up.

Volleyball was struck with the vivid memory of sitting in here and it becoming clear that her physical scars had no intention of healing easily.

It all looked quite cosy. Somewhat larger than Volleyball’s own current residence, and it seemed… more lived in. There were pillows and a crumpled blanket strewn haphazardly on a couch, a half-finished puzzle on the coffee table, dirty dishes in the sink, personalised decorations and knick-knacks sitting neatly around the place, a couple of coffee-ring stains on the bench, and a planner sitting open with a few pens scattered beside it. Volleyball couldn’t place why, but it filled her with a slight sense of… melancholy.

Jealousy?

She pushed the thought away.

Pearl opened a door next to the couch and entered the room within. Volleyball followed her hesitantly into what revealed itself to be a bathroom.

Volleyball hung by the door, standing up straight and holding her elbows as she watched Pearl open a cabinet and take out four bottles. Each was coloured and shaped to resemble a Diamond. She set them down on the side of the bathtub before leaning in, turning on the water and plugging it up.

Then she fell back into a kneeling position before the tub, the yellow Gem hovering by her shoulder in Mega Pearl’s lavender bubble. Volleyball approached her from behind, suddenly feeling a little awkward as a silence stretched between them and they waited for the tub to fill.

“So,” Pearl said after a few moments, looking back at Volleyball and smiling as if she did not feel the tension in the air at all, “how have you been finding Earth? I haven’t seen you around much since you returned from your visit to Homeworld.”

That had been the other Pearls' idea. And it had been a rather pleasant visit. Meeting Spinel had certainly been a highlight.

But Volleyball quickly found that she had no desire to remain on that planet permanently. For now, at least.

“Oh, it’s very nice,” Volleyball said honestly, “it’s very kind of you all to have organised these lessons and living spaces for everyone who needs them.” She smiled politely.

Pearl mirrored her, “are you enjoying your classes? I haven’t seen you at many of mine, but I suppose you’re not much of a fan of sports?”

Volleyball made a face, “well, not really, to be honest. I find them to be a little… overwhelming. I enjoy helping in the greenhouse.”

“I’ve seen you in the history lectures,” Pearl said. Volleyball had seen Pearl there, too, seeing as she enjoyed giving them.

“I missed out on a lot,” Volleyball said by way of explanation, still smiling—but Pearl’s faltered at this. “It’s nice to see what happened without me. And everything Pink got up to. With you.”

'Nice' might not exactly be the right word. Volleyball couldn’t help but feel extremely bittersweet at learning about all the history she had missed out on in her time spent in White Diamond’s very pervasive company. As much as she would like to, she couldn’t make it to _every_ history lesson, because… well, she always came away from them very tired and oddly emotional, and she just wasn’t sure she could handle that too frequently.

“Well…” Pearl said, and it seemed that the tables had turned and she now felt an uncomfortableness in the air that Volleyball couldn’t see, “it’s nice that you’re adjusting so well. Maybe I should come visit your new apartment sometime? We don’t talk as often as we should, do we?”

“Maybe not,” Volleyball agreed, but by then the bathtub was full enough for Pearl to stop the flow of water.

“Watch this,” Pearl said with a little conspiratory glance at Volleyball, the corner of her mouth quirking upwards.

She picked up the bottles she had fetched from the cabinet one at a time, unlidded them and poured just a little bit of the liquid inside into the bath water. First, a beautiful golden ichor, then blue, then white, then a clear liquid from the pink bottle, which Volleyball was familiar with; it must have come from Pink’s fountain.

Then the bottles were stoppered, and Mega Pearl’s bubble lowered into the water, as Pearl stirred with her arm. Volleyball took a few steps closer and leaned in to better see what was happening. The water, and the shining, almost glowing liquid within, was swirling around the tub in a way that was beautiful and hypnotic.

The bubble submerged in the water, and disappeared beneath the surface.

There were a few moments of silence as Pearl retracted her arm from the water and stood to dry it on a nearby towel. Then the gem inside the bathtub glowed, dimmer than the ceiling light at first, and then bright enough that Volleyball had to squint and look away for a split-second.

And then a very confused-looking Citrine was standing up to her shins in water in the bathtub. She panicked, tried to take a step back, and slipped.

The newly dry Pearl was splashed unceremoniously with healing water, as was Volleyball. The Citrine was already trying to scramble to her feet.

“Eugh,” Pearl said, though Volleyball felt a very nice, warm feeling spreading through her in response to the water, “oh, wait, it’s alright!” she said quickly to the Citrine, trying to calm her—although the newly formed Gem’s face was plastered with her cornsilk hair and she was too preoccupied with wiping it away and summoning a jagged-looking sword into her hands to pay Pearl’s words much mind.

Volleyball backed quickly towards the door, ready to stay out of the way and let Pearl deal with this, since she seemed to know what she was doing. It took a fair bit of hasty reassurance from the rebel Gem, but eventually the Citrine had her wet hair out of her face and had stored away her sword in compliance.

Volleyball stepped out of the bathroom as Pearl helped the Citrine out of the bathtub, let out the water, dried herself off (again), and lead her into the living room. Volleyball, for her part, gave the Citrine an awkward little smile and half-wave as the Gem who she had near cleanly impaled not so long before looked around the room with obvious confusion. She seemed very disoriented, and Volleyball could certainly relate to that.

Pearl quickly began rummaging around in a few different cupboards around the place for something or other, eventually remembering to direct Citrine to make herself comfortable on the couch as she did. After a few moments, Volleyball slid onto one of the stools by the kitchen bench.

“Ah, here they are,” Pearl said finally with an air of satisfaction, taking a single pamphlet from a pile and an informative disc from one of the cupboards.

A few moments later, Volleyball was idly listening to the familiar Tale of Steven, only half paying attention as she played with the fabric of her skirt, rubbing her thumbs together either side of it. She knew the story well already, having watched the original broadcast and interacted with Steven and his close friends quite a few times by now.

The Citrine’s confused expression was slowly replaced with a very unreadable one. She was probably very overwhelmed. Volleyball sympathised.

She found her thoughts wandering. She wondered if there were many corrupted Gems left on Earth, seeing as it had been quite a while since they had begun healing them all. She supposed if there was anywhere they could possibly be left roaming, if nowhere else it was deep in the mysterious depths of Earth’s ocean. She had heard that humans hadn’t even explored a fraction of it yet. That was a little intimidating for her, coming from a race that was known for refusing to leave a single stone in the universe unturned.

When the pre-recorded message was over, Pearl asked whether the Citrine had any questions. She spent a while answering them, then explained Little Homeworld to Citrine—who predictably found the concept of being introduced to the modern universe through the culture and classes there comforting, and agreed to be set up with a home.

“Well, let’s get you settled in, then,” Pearl said with an upbeat tone, standing from where she had been seated a couple of feet away from the other Gem, “Volleyball, will you be accompanying us? We’ll be headed in the direction of your apartment anyway.”

“Hm? Oh, yes, of course,” Volleyball replied, her automatic smile hitting her face when she spoke as it almost always did. She rose from her position at the bench and followed the other two out of the cosy house.

It was getting dark in earnest, now. Both Pearls’ Gems worked as guiding lights, however, the pink glow complimenting the blue.

As they passed the crater Mega Pearl had made, Volleyball’s gaze lingered. She was slightly disturbed to be reminded of how… good it had felt, stabbing the corrupted Gem monster.

It wasn’t that she enjoyed the cruelty of it, but that she had felt so powerful and self-assured in that moment. It was a feeling she did not often get. Although, she had been plenty self-assured in the past, she hadn’t felt powerful often in her life. That had been nice.

She looked to Pearl, walking just ahead of her, chatting amiably with the Citrine and revelling in explaining the workings of the world to her. Was that how she felt _all_ the time?

Perhaps it was unreasonable to assume that, but she just seemed so… confident and happy. And like she belonged here.

Volleyball had a sinking feeling when she came to the quiet realisation that she could not relate. A moment of despair, then she reflexively pushed it down.

Volleyball said a quick goodbye as they reached Little Homeworld and split off to head ‘home’. Her companions returned her sentiment, but as Pearl spoke, she frowned. Volleyball quickly schooled her expression into something more pleasant, worried that her less-than-positive thoughts had been showing on her face.

Home was dark and quiet as always. Volleyball didn’t bother turning the light on; she just made her way over to her elaborately be-cushioned futon by Gemlight.

She took up the book she was currently partway through and relaxed in the comfortable embrace of her bed-like seat.

She held her page with one thumb but didn’t open the book. She relaxed and shut her eyes.

She was, of course, not intending to sleep. She had every intention of reading the night away until morning light, when she would tend to the plants around her apartment and then perhaps take a walk before that day’s classes. But she ended up drifting into a light meditative state anyway, tired from the several past weeks of… well, of everything her life currently entailed.

It wasn’t near as much work, or anywhere close to as stressful as what had once occupied her time, but it still managed to tire her out thoroughly sometimes. Such was life.

She was startled from her reverie by a sharp knock at her door. Quickly, wondering who it was checking in on her at this hour, she set down her book and got up. Turning the light on as she did, she opened the door.

She was greeted by Pearl with a muted, almost apologetic smile—a reflection of the one that had been on her face as she held out her hand to fuse with Volleyball earlier.

“Oh! Pearl,” Volleyball said, smile spreading instinctively over her face as she did, “did you need something?”

Pearl shook her head, “actually, I was…” she hesitated, as if thinking over what it was she wanted to say for a moment, “I was wondering whether you’d like me to give you sword-fighting lessons.”

Volleyball’s eyebrows flew upwards, “sword-fighting lessons?” she repeated, tone belying astonishment, “why would you suggest that?” after a moment, she added very quickly, “not that I don’t appreciate the offer, mind you!” she laughed a small, breathy laugh for emphasis.

“Well,” Pearl said, lacing her fingers together in front of herself, “I did feel the way you did when we defeated the corrupted Citrine with such ease, and… I also shared your thoughts for a moment. To be honest, I think I felt the way you did before I learned how to defend myself. Not that I don’t think you can defend yourself!” it was Pearl’s turn to give a stilted little awkward laugh there, “it’s just that it’s something I was thinking that you might really get something out of. I know _I_ did.”

Briefly, Volleyball wasn’t sure she liked where Pearl was coming from. Did she think Volleyball so far behind her, developmentally? Did she think she was better than her, that Volleyball was desperate for her guidance?

But she pushed down the hint of indignation because, really—this was a very thoughtful offer. Pearl was obviously attempting to extend an olive branch between them. And if Volleyball was honest with herself… she would appreciate the company. It got lonely here sometimes.

And… she would also appreciate the possibility of feeling that way again—the way she had felt so swiftly and gracefully dealing with adversity as she had earlier that evening. Pearl obviously thought so too, since that seemed to be the reason she was making this suggestion in the first place.

Perhaps she and Pearl had gotten off on the wrong foot a while ago, but they had so obviously put that behind them while at the Reef, and this really was very kind of her. Maybe she was right. And maybe this would instil in Volleyball some of that confidence she saw within Pearl.

“That’s very generous of you,” Volleyball said, after she was sure she had let the silence between them stretch on for far too long, “although I’m not really sure I was cut out for that sort of thing…”

“Ha!” Pearl exclaimed, a kind of wicked pleasure creeping into her bright expression, “of course you weren’t! But neither was I, so what does it matter?”

Volleyball’s smile widened involuntarily. “Alright, I would love to,” she said, unable refute that particular point.

“Wonderful!” Pearl grinned and clapped her hands together. Volleyball couldn’t help but mirror her happiness—it was becoming obvious that it was extremely contagious when Pearl smiled so genuinely like that.

“We can sort out the specifics of it tomorrow, then—I’ll come find you sometime during the day. I assume you’ll be attending your usual classes?”

“Mhm.”

“Then I’ll see you then!’

“See you,” Volleyball smiled politely, “and—um, thank you.”

“Not a problem.”

As Volleyball shut her door and turned to return to her book, she found that she couldn’t wipe the smile from her face.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I've just been thinking about Volleyball a lot recently and hoping she's doing well after everything that's happened to her. Don't be afraid to leave a comment! :)


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